Chapter 17: The Fate of the Handkerchief

The steward pushed through the crowd from behind and revealed himself.

“Princess Ning’an said that if you go to the frontier, she can provide for the people.”

With only one master in the household, keeping so many people was indeed wasteful.

The funds of the Xiangguo Duke’s residence were not solely used for the heir. There were also many elderly and infirm veterans from the battlefield who depended on the Xiangguo Duke’s residence for their livelihood.

Yan Ziqi looked at the pile of trouble before him and suddenly said, “Wasn’t she always asking me to prepare an outer residence for her?”

“Send them all to Yongxingfang and have them wait to serve Princess Ning’an,” he instructed.

After speaking, Yan Ziqi returned to his quarters.

Not the main quarters of the Xiangguo Duke’s residence, but the courtyard where he used to live.

The main quarters were cleaned daily, but only his own attendants were allowed in his current quarters.

Qingyan felt he was becoming useless, spending his days either staying in the courtyard or cleaning and tidying up.

“Master, you’ve finally returned.”

As Qingyan was about to complain, he saw the steward approach, holding a note.

“This was delivered by Xing’e at Princess Ning’an’s request.”

Xing’e had not been with the princess today. She had gone to the Duke of Dingguo’s residence to get an invitation and brought it back to the Xiangguo Duke’s residence.

Yan Ziqi took the note. “It’s been a long time since anyone sent me an invitation.”

Although many people admired his face, there were few who were willing to marry their daughters to him, considering his background and capabilities.

Since there were no female members of the family in the residence, it was inconvenient to host guests.

Or perhaps people thought he had no connections.

Therefore, this was the first invitation the Xiangguo Duke’s residence had received in a long time.

“It’s for the Duchess of Dingguo’s flower viewing banquet.”

Yan Ziqi decided to attend.

He wanted to avoid being scolded by Li Ning’an.

The flower viewing banquet was in three days. The Duke of Dingguo’s residence had already made preparations. The Duchess welcomed guests in the flower hall, with the ladies of various households arranged inside, while the gentlemen were situated in the waterside pavilion outside.

She had a younger daughter who had once had a crush on Fu Minglang.

Li Ning’an, in her pursuit of Fu Minglang, often invited people from the Fu family to various banquets.

Once, at a banquet, Shui Yue Rong deliberately arranged to meet Fu Minglang in a corridor and pretended to lose a handkerchief, hoping to get acquainted with him.

Fu Minglang had encountered such attempts before and ignored it, simply walking away.

However, Shui Yue Rong’s handkerchief was genuinely lost and was picked up by her cousin who came to the residence to seek some advantage.

Taking this opportunity, he hoped to propose to her.

This cousin was the great-aunt’s nephew, and the Duchess of Dingguo was reluctant to oppose her mother-in-law, making her anxious like an ant on a hot pan.

Many people were in the reception hall watching the commotion. Li Ning’an knew Shui Yue Rong had an interest in Fu Minglang and came to see her talent and appearance.

She happened to see the cousin—fat with a lecherous gaze.

He was completely unworthy of Shui Yue Rong.

Li Ning’an snatched the handkerchief and instructed Xing’e to cut it into pieces.

The cousin was using the intimate handkerchief to coerce Shui Yue Rong into marrying him.

When the handkerchief was suddenly taken away, he was naturally displeased and angrily asked, “Who are you? This handkerchief was found by me.”

However, upon seeing Li Ning’an’s breathtaking beauty, he suddenly felt that his cousin was not worth marrying.

Perhaps this lady liked him and was unhappy about his intention to marry his cousin.

Was this deliberately cutting up the handkerchief to get his attention?

The cousin quickly adjusted his clothes and spoke to Li Ning’an with a patronizing tone:

“If it were you being married to me, that would be acceptable. But Yue Rong might be displeased. It would be better if she is the younger one and you are the elder.”

“What kind of dream are you having!”

The women present thought this man must be crazy.

He even dared to flirt with Princess Ning’an.

While they were having tea and chatting peacefully, this man barged in, claiming that if the handkerchief—a personal item—was left to him by the ladies of the Duke of Dingguo’s residence, he would go home and ask his parents to arrange a marriage proposal. The Duchess of Dingguo was so furious that her hands were trembling.

Shui Yue Rong stared in disbelief as he pulled out her lost handkerchief, tears immediately blurring her vision.

She had just made up an excuse about losing it to Fu Minglang, and now it had really been lost.

What a coincidence that he had found it.

How could she marry such a person?

He was someone who came to the residence seeking benefits and stubbornly refused to leave, with no official title, yet wanted to marry a legitimate lady.

What kind of dream was he having?

“Mother.”

The Duchess of Dingguo recognized the handkerchief as Yue Rong’s. After his declaration, everyone knew the situation.

She was unwilling to accept this suitor, but Yue Rong had no other options.

The Duchess of Dingguo felt as if she had swallowed something bitter. At that moment, Princess Ning’an suddenly appeared and snatched the handkerchief away.

Princess Ning’an would not personally cut the handkerchief; she handed it to Xing’e, who immediately took scissors and began cutting it into pieces.

No matter whose handkerchief it was, if the princess said to cut it, it was done without hesitation.

While Xing’e was cutting, Princess Ning’an suddenly remembered that she might not be familiar with the Duke of Dingguo’s residence.

If she intervened so aggressively, what if they thought she was using her influence to bully others and reported it to Fu Minglang?

Princess Ning’an’s imposing demeanor softened, but upon hearing the cousin’s words, she rolled her eyes in frustration.

“Who do you think you are? You don’t even compare to one of Fu Minglang’s fingers, and you dare to speak to me like this.”

Princess Ning’an gave Xing’e a look, and Xing’e understood, putting down the scissors and kicking the cousin, who fell to the ground.

“You… You’re just jealous and unwilling to let her be the secondary wife. Why do you have to kick me?”

Princess Ning’an felt like she might throw up the salt and crispy chicken from the previous day.

Xing’e kicked him again, “How dare you be rude to Princess Ning’an.”

Xing’e had learned some martial arts from the palace guards and was quite skilled.

A favored maid meant she had some power. Regardless of which young master it was, unless he was the future prince consort, he would be dealt with first.

The Duchess of Dingguo seized the opportunity and said, “Take this cousin away quickly; we don’t want to lose face for the Duke of Dingguo’s residence.”

Yue Rong had only spoken a few words to him out of family obligation.

The man thought Yue Rong was interested in him.

He didn’t attend to proper business but lingered at his aunt’s house, dreaming about things that weren’t feasible.

The Duchess of Dingguo finally felt relieved.

Since this was at someone else’s banquet, the Duchess of Dingguo apologized and had the cousin taken away.

The cousin was not a fool; he knew that if he returned like this, he would surely not marry his cousin.

“Yue Rong, say something. I have your handkerchief.”

“You… you…” Shui Yue Rong couldn’t deny it was hers.

Xing’e reduced her force but still broke his leg.

His mouth could still talk.

Princess Ning’an tossed the shredded handkerchief into the Duchess of Dingguo’s arms.

“Who saw him with the handkerchief?”

Princess Ning’an’s gaze swept over everyone.

Everyone quickly shook their heads, indicating they hadn’t seen anything.

“You… you’re talking nonsense. I clearly… ah, stop hitting me, stop hitting me.”

Seeing he was still not honest, Xing’e kicked him a few more times.

The Duchess of Dingguo, upon learning the situation, sent her nephew back overnight and had her daughter-in-law apologize to Princess Ning’an.

She feared that Princess Ning’an and the emperor might complain and make things difficult for the Duke of Dingguo’s residence.

Princess Ning’an was too busy at that time, attending to Fu Minglang and sending this and that.

However, the Duchess of Dingguo, through these interactions, became a close friend of Princess Ning’an.

As for Shui Yue Rong, her feelings for Fu Minglang were merely a fleeting infatuation.

Princess Ning’an had effectively saved her, so she would not compete with Princess Ning’an for a suitor.

However, Shui Yue Rong would find herself in a new crisis at the next flower viewing banquet.